ZEISS Panoptes 65 cinema lenses debut at Cine Gear Expo LA

Designed for the 65mm format, this comprehensive set of ten primes under the name Panoptes 65 represents the ZEISS definitive commitment to large-format cinematography.

First announced in February, when ZEISS launched the Aatma series, the Panoptes 65 brings a rich history of optical expertise in cinema to the 65mm format. Geared towards a diverse range of productions, these lenses carry the hallmarks cinematographers have long trusted and come to expect from ZEISS — combined with a carefully balanced aesthetic for the 65mm format: natural colors, forgiving skin textures, gentle focus fall-off and a silky bokeh.

ZEISS announced that the company will introduce the Panoptes 65 Cinema lenses at Cine Gear Expo LA, at Universal Studios Lot. For the first time, show attendees can get hands-on with these new lenses. Designed for the 65mm format, this comprehensive set of ten primes represents the ZEISS definitive commitment to large-format cinematography.

“The Panoptes 65 introduction is an example of the ZEISS commitment to the future of large format filmmaking: a complete, cohesive set of lenses built to perform at every stage of production, from set to post,” asserts Jeanfre Fachon, Senior Product Manager Cinema at ZEISS.

Ready to interface with today’s filmmaking landscape, the new ZEISS Panoptes 65 lenses are engineered to display consistent rendering that holds up under the scrutiny of VFX pipelines and compositing workflows. Off the shelf, they offer full lens data support with eXtended Data (XD) and integration into the ZEISS CinCraft ecosystem for camera tracking, virtual production, and visual effects workflows.

The Panoptes 65 line comprises ten focal lengths — 25mm, 35mm, 40mm, 45mm, 55mm, 70mm, 90mm, 110mm, 135mm, and 180mm — all featuring a uniform T-stop of T2.2. With the best of ZEISS ergonomics, these primes feature dual scales (metric and imperial) and consistent placement of focus and iris rings across the set.

Complete with LPL mount, Panoptes 65 cover an image circle of 59.9mm for optimum compatibility with existing large format cameras including the Arri Alexa 265, Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65, Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55 and those to come.

ZEISS Panoptes 65s are available to order now. Deliveries of the 35mm through 135mm focal lengths are scheduled to begin late summer 2026, with the 25mm and 180mm slated for 2027. The lenses are available as a set or individually from authorized ZEISS Cinema dealers.